What Did You Do by Shari Lapena

Diane Brewer is dead at 17. Found naked in a farmer’s field. How can this be? Everyone loved and admired Diana. Her boyfriend Cameron, her best friend, Riley, her teachers and her boss. How can this be? You must read the book to find the answer. It had me wondering until almost the last page.

I quite enjoyed this read. It is fast paced and easy to follow. Just the style I enjoy.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this delightful opportunity.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! What Have You Done? by Shari Lapena is a fast paced novel about Diana, a teenage girl, who was murdered and left in a neighbouring farm field. There are many suspects but the killer always seemed to find a way out. Was it because the authorities were looking in the wrong places? Was the real killer hiding in plain sight? This novel had so many twists, I was intrigued until the very end. I also felt great sympathy for the main characters. The loss of a young teenager is never easy especially when it happens in such a heinous way. Overall, I story I would highly recommend to others.

What I like about this book was its pace. It's fast and good if you just want a quick read to save you from a slump. It's eerie and grabs your attention right from the start. And it's refreshing to see Lapena's stepping into the drama of a small town.

Once in a while, you'll think "Ah! it's so obvious", until Shari makes you second guess everything you think you know. The ending was a bit sudden and the ghost element wasn't my favorite, but I still really enjoyed the book. I'm not a fan of the subplot either and think that was handled pretty poorly. Otherwise, I still wasn't able to put this down, so I'd still recommend it!

Shari Lapena has done it again! In her latest thriller we are swept away into a quiet small town where a young teen was discovered murdered in a field. I enjoyed the pacing of the book and all the POV’s we were given. I was hooked from the very first chapter. Lepena kept us our toes with all of the plot twists. She had me guessing “who had done it?” until the very last chapter. Each time I thought I knew what had happened I was steered into another direction. I absolutely devoured this book. I have been a Shari Lapena fan for a long time and this book once again does not disappoint. If you are in need of a fast paced murder mystery I definitely recommend this read. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This is only my second book by Shari Lapena but I know I’ll eventually read all her books.

This book starts off running and never slows down. Told from many different view points, this story rockets from page one where a dead girl being found in a field through the perspective of all of those closest to her, the ghost of the dead girl, and all the potential suspects. I’m not going to say that I didn’t figure out who did it but I will say that I was never absolutely sure either. It took to the last few chapters before I knew I was right.

I read this book very quickly and when I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about the book. When the book is released grab a copy. I’m fairly sure you’ll enjoy it.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to review this book.
I did not expect to be engrossed by the page-turner thriller. It involved characters my girls' ages, making it too close to home. I have enjoyed the authors' library before. This might have been my favourite and most upsetting. This book is for teenagers and up. It is gripping and horrifying Well done, Shari!.

I really love Shari Lapena's writing style. I get suckered in so much and just want to keep reading. What Have You Done wasn't one of my favourites of hers, but I still enjoyed reading it. I loved how I kept flip flopping who was the killer was - Boyfriend? Creepy gym teacher? Stalker? It did throw me off how many viewpoints there were, so I figured one of them must be the killer.

The ending did felt rushed. I wish there was more of a reason why the killer did what they did. I did like how all of the different storylines got wrapped up.

Thank you to Netgallery and Penguin Random House Canada | Doubleday Canada for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A girl is found dead in a field in a small town where everyone knows everyone and news travels fast. Diana, the victim, has secrets as everyone does. Her best friend Riley wants to figure out who her murderer was and what happened. We are also given the perspective of Diana herself as her ghost tries to remember what happened as well. We are brought along as all the suspects are looked into and everyone's secrets come to light. I enjoyed reading this, but it wasn't anything special other than I didn't suspect the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced copy

Shari Lapena has quickly become one of my favourites for a good mystery, and What have you done, is another quick, mysterious, “who done it” book

Small town, popular girl, just waiting to finish school and really start her life, Dianna, ends up dead. The community is shocked, who could do this?
Throughout the book a number of suspects pop up, everyone with their own secret, or potential motive.
You follow through the story thinking this case is pointing to one person for sure, and then you get another confession, or reason to believe maybe the truth isn’t what it seems. I will say, I was personally able to figure out who it was; but that didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying this new release. The fast pace kept me coming back and I quickly read this book in no time.
If you’ve read her other books I can say you’ll certainly enjoy this one too!

I'm a fan of Lapena's books; they are usually a quick read for me. I'd have to categorize this one as probably my least favourite of hers.

It's not that I didn't enjoy the story, it's actually that I didn't care for the format. This is a multi-POV with each chapter often being from the perspective of multiple characters. There were at least 11 different characters whose voice was heard from.

I wanted to like this one more than I did, but the pacing didn't do it for me with the constant changes of POVs not allowing things to flow as smoothly.

I'd give 2.5 out of 5, rounded up to 3.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of What Have You Done by Shari Lapena

Phenomenal! Not the first book I've read by this author, but maybe my favorite!

I liked how this story was written, from many different perspectives, but not at all confusing, I always knew which character was which and how they related to others. I was hooked from the first page.
I'm not sure how many twists there were but this book was awesome, and then there is the ending... and it had me guessing right till the end.
I loved the characters, the writing style, the plot, all of it was great! One of those books you don't want to put down.

I had such a great time with this book. As always, Lapenas writing pulls you in from the beginning and keeps you guessing right till the end.
I will say, I found this a little more predictable than her other books - guessing the ending at 40%, but it was a quick and easy read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a 3.5 star for me. This is my second book by this author and I didn’t love either of them but I didn’t hate this book either. I will say there were lots of characters with many points of view and I found that confusing. I think that could be cut back more. I get that it’s to make more suspects but I guessed who it was about 10% in and was correct. I also found there was some repetitiveness which isn’t surprising when switching between so many points of view. Reader needs to be reminded of what we know about the person speaking but it did get redundant. I still read this book quickly and wanted to see what happened which is why I gave it the reading I did. I will say there was a plot thread about speaking with ghosts that had not follow up so that didn’t make sense to include. Am easy summer read but not hard to figure out for true thriller readers. As a note: the writer used the exclamation point a lot. Like a lot. So I kept reading it as yelling. I wrote that way in text msgs but not common in books. These should be removed or lessened I think but that’s my opinion.

I really enjoyed this book, it had me hooked right away and I loved that it provided different possibilities all throughout. I enjoyed the ending as well. My only gripe is that I wished Lapena had alluded to the ending a little more throughout the story, so it felt more developed.

This high school girl murder whodunit was SO SLOW I ended up picking it up and putting it down multiple times. The majority of the book is just a whole bunch of potential suspects with no leads and chapters of the dead girl watching her friend and family The Lovely Bones style. I guess the theme of this book is everyone thinks their loved one is a murderer? There were lots of false leads and creepy men but I knew who the murderer was way before the big reveal so for me it lacked the shock value. I've read and loved the author's work before so this was a disappointment for me. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars.

This was my first book from Shari Lapena and I was SO excited to receive an ARC from NetGalley and the Publisher.

I've heard so many good things about this author (and will definitely read more) but as much as I wanted to love this book, I only just thought it was "okay". Let's break it down...

What I Loved
☠️ Compelling premise: A popular girl is found dead/naked in a farmer's field of a small town.
🏃🏻‍♂️ Fast paced: This book is definitely bingable.
👭 Good cast of characters: There are a LOT of different POVs but not hard to follow. Some perspectives were 1st person and others were 3rd person, which I don't normally like but it worked well here.

What I Disliked
😐 I was bored at parts. Took a while to get into the story.
👻 Really didn't understand the ghost's perspective and nothing came out of it.
😡 I absolutely hate when information is misrepresented/not fully told so there's NO WAY you could have suspected the killer.
🛑 Ended abruptly. Lots of threads left unsatisfactorily unfinished.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone that wants a fast-paced thriller and surprise twist. I'd say it's a worthwhile read if you're a fan of Shari Lapena but if it's your first book from this author, you might want to start somewhere else.

Diana is a popular teenager so everyone is surprised when her naked body is found in a farmer's field. Surprisingly there are lots of suspects for the police to interview. Mourning her are her mother, who believes Diana's presence is still with her, her broken-hearted boyfriend, Cameron, and her best friends, Riley and Evan. As the story evolves, we discover that many in the cute friendly town have secrets they don't want revealed.

I've read a few books by this author and thought this one was okay. I liked the writing style. It's written in third person perspective with a focus on wherever the action is along with Diana's ghostly narrations and Evan's diary entries. Though there were lots of red herrings as to who could have murdered Diana, I thought the "whodunnit" was a bit of a letdown and kind of came out of the blue. As a head's up, there is swearing.

4.5 stars

When I got approved to read this through NetGalley, I was beyond excited as Shari Lapena is a thriller author whose books I just enjoy reading so much.

Shari Lapena has done it again! There’s so many twists and turns, I never know what to expect. Plus, the pacing of this story is just perfect and keeps you on your toes!

When a teenager the community knows, Diana Brewer, is found in a farmers field, naked and surrounded by vultures, a lot of fingers get pointed and a lot of secrets unfold. In a small town where everyone knows everyone, rumours travel fast. With the multiple POVs, we get a really good feel for the characters and some of their inner most thoughts.

This was quite a captivating read and she had me hooked from beginning to end. The twists and turns are just 🤌🏻 *chefs kiss* and I really didn’t see the ending coming! Holy moly. The pacing is perfect and keeps you on your toes!

This book comes out July 30th so make sure to grab yourself a copy! Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fairhill, Vermont is a sleepy little town, where nothing bad ever happens. The residents lead peaceful, sheltered lives but the illusion is suddenly shattered when the naked body of a teenager is discovered laying in a field, on the outskirts of the town. The farmer who discovers the body immediately alerts the police, which in turn alert the FBI, and before long a massive investigation is launched.

The body belongs to Diana Brewer, a popular, well-liked, beautiful high school student and the community is desperate to figure out who is behind the heinous crime. The story unfolds in multiple perspectives, and it is quickly determined that everyone who knew Diana loved her, at least that's how it seems on the surface. But the more we learn, the more gossip and secrets are unearthed and soon we realize anyone could be to blame. As the investigation unfolds, it's clear that more than one person is keeping secrets they hope nobody discovers, everyone is a suspect, nobody is safe.

Shari Lapena has absolutely mastered the ability to write a cozy, suspenseful, binge-worthy, page-turner and this is no exception. Not only will this book keep you guessing who the murderer is until the very end, you will NOT be able to put it down. The multiple POV's help to paint a complex, intertwined story of the Fairhill community, and keeps you invested and captivated until the very last sentence.

'What Have You Done?' was a incredibly suspenseful, thrilling and exciting read. I couldn't help but read it in just two sittings. I can't wait for whatever it is that Shari Lapena writes next because she never misses the mark!

What Have You Done by Shari Lapena came out yesterday and if you need a fast paced thriller to add to your tbr then this is a fab choice!

This one is set in Vermont. I love thrillers set in Vermont, I find there’s an eeriness and moodiness to them that is so satisfying.

The small farming town is shaken when the body of well liked, 17 year old, Diana is found in a farmers field. She lived with her single mother and was dating the most popular high school football player, Cameron. No one had a bad word to say about Diana, the community loved her. No one could understands how this could have happened.

But buried under the rug are the schools and the towns dark secrets. As the police start their investigation and dig into the lives of the students, their families and the teachers, we get a glimpse of crimes that were hidden and we try to figure out who is involved with concealing the truth. There are so many subtle hints that you’ll be suspecting everyone.

One of the twists I really enjoyed was the several appearances of Diana throughout the book, she is watching everything unfold, realizing that she is murdered but she is so traumatized that she can’t remember who murdered her.

I can’t get enough of psychological thrillers with small town mysteries. This is easy, short chapters, yet a twisty and satisfying read, I hope you enjoy it too!